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Marlott
Marlott was a fortress village situated in the Nui Mountains of the Northern Continent, in the Fractures Universe. It was constructed during the Final Push as a location with which to safeguard the Kanohi Avohkii. History Even to the present day, exceedingly little is known about the history of the region that would become Marlott. Initially, the land was home to a small community of Onu-Matoran and Fe-Matoran, who resided in the mountains in order to mine iron ore from the hillsides. Furthermore, the area was steeped in a rich agricultural tradition. Roughly 45,000 years ago, however, the local hillsides were supposedly depleted of their iron ore reserves and the resident Matoran migrated in search of greater mining opportunities elsewhere. 181 years ago, the area was stumbled upon by a wandering squadron of Matoran freedom fighters. Reporting their find to their battalion's leader, the Order of Mata Nui took action and began work constructing a covert stronghold on the land. Following the recent death of Toa Takanuva and the smuggling of the Kanohi Avohkii back into the Order of Mata Nui's possession, the fortress was used to safeguard the Kanohi. As such, several Matoran villagers traveled to the settlement to escape the conflict and to offer their services. Shortly after the settlement became populated, Toa Salu, Toa Merra and Salaak were dispatched to supervise the protection of the Avohkii. Additionally, Turaga Autolycus and Turaga Haru joined the community in the hopes of establishing direction and leadership amongst the Matoran population. It was around this point that Toa Salu named the village Marlott, after the settlement of his original residence. With the arrival of the Turaga, however, the Order of Mata Nui saw the settlement as a fitting place to store detailed records of the Matoran Universe's Av-Matoran populace, constructing an underground cellar containing stone carving and profiles on all known Matoran of Light for in the event that one ever needed to be located. 94 years ago, one of the local Matoran, Jekkai, was given a Toa Stone under unclear circumstances. Accordingly, he placed the stone in the village Suva and was imbued with Toa Power. Thus, the village's three Order of Mata Nui agents took the young Toa's training unto themselves. However, Jekkai proved to be a particularly difficult student to instill knowledge in and was unable to gain access to his Kanohi or Elemental Powers for three years. Four years later, with Jekkai still notably struggling with his teachings, the Brotherhood of Makuta gained intelligence from a tormented Order of Mata Nui operative, revealing the location of the Kanohi Avohkii in exchange for his freedom. Eager to stomp out any secret weapon that could be used to undermine the Brotherhood's already sizable grip upon the Matoran Universe, Makuta Scarla assembled a small group of warriors to raid the fortress, naming her taskforce the Cult of Darkness and covertly infiltrating the settlement. However, shortly before the attack, Turaga Haru and Lugat began to notice a the effects of a contaminating agent, causing all the Kanohi in their storeroom to become infected. Fearing the worst, the Turaga of Fire called for an emergency council meeting in the village square, hoping to distribute reserve Kanohi masks to the villagers and to identify the source of the infection. With the presence of a Kraata uncovered, Makuta Scarla ordered the acceleration of her plans, prompting the Cult of Darkness strike team to ambush key figures in the Marlott community. A smaller strike team, consisting of Vorkin, Cobarox, and Ignis targeted the main fortress whilst Leontes and Oltab engaged Toa Merra on an excursion to the village's lakeside. Additionally, Nordix and Gorta were tasked with eliminating any straggling Matoran who remained unaccounted for in the wilderness. Of these three simultaneous attacks, three were successful, with Scarla making an appearance to secure the fortress and with a straggling Ga-Matoran being eliminated by Gorta. The attack upon the lakeside, however, was thwarted by the untimely arrival of Toa Thode, a mercenary Toa of Plasma who had appeared at the fortress seemingly with intentions of protecting the Order of Mata Nui's interests. With the inhabitants of the village overwhelmed and captured, the Cult of Darkness enacted its principle objective: to locate the Kanohi Avohkii. However, as would swiftly become apparent, the location of the mask was unknown to the inhabitants of the village. After subjecting a number of prisoners to torture, it thus became clear that the mask had been smuggled away from the fortress by Turaga Autolycus, who proceeded to establish contact with the resistance force and withdraw from the grounds of Marlott, facilitated by Toa Salu, who gave his life to cover their escape. For the ensuing two weeks, the Cult of Darkness established the village as a more permanent base of operations, continuing to patrol the fortress grounds and interrogate the remaining prisoners, three of which had been killed off, and one permitted to flee the village. Geography A prominent feature of Marlott was its village square, situated in the upper quarter of the village, and adorned with a shrine dedicated to the Kanohi Avohkii. In the expanse of land surrounding this area, the dwellings of the village's two Turaga - Autolycus and Haru - could be found. Furthermore, the settlement's court was often held in the village square. The fortress itself was large and constructed of stone, boasting several tall towers and a complex architecture. Within the fortress grounds lay a small forgery, used by either Turaga Haru or, more frequently, Lugat. Notably, this forge shared its space with a number of docile Rahi enclosures. Additionally, there was a medical bay, which was used as the principal workspace of Pofia, the village's Fa-Matoran Physician. The fortress grounds also held access to an underground cavern, wherein the Order of Mata Nui had secured sensitive documents pertaining to the known Av-Matoran populace, several high-valued artifacts, and a host of otherwise unspecified internal wealth. The area once held a garrison of around ten Matoran and, before the Brotherhood invasion of the area, had never fallen in a siege. Inhabitants Matoran *Sonitous - Deceased *Carnac *Alika *Ninian *Lugat *Vancha *Outo - Deceased *Sarnii - Formerly *Pofia *Kapla *Unnamed Ta-Matoran - Deceased *Unnamed Ga-Matoran - Deceased Toa *Salu - Deceased *Merra *Jekkai Other *Turaga Autolycus *Turaga Haru *Salaak Rahi *Mahi *Husi *Fusa *Ruki *Ussal Trivia *Marlott was named in reference to the fictitious location described in Thomas Hardy's Tess of the D'Urbervilles, a small peasant village in northern, Victorian England. Appearances *''Zero Hour'' **''Zero Hour: Prequel'' - First Appearance **''Zero Hour: Chapter 1 **''Zero Hour: Chapter 2 **''Zero Hour: Chapter 3 **''Zero Hour: Chapter 4 **''Zero Hour: Chapter 5 **''Zero Hour: Chapter 6 *''Over Your Shoulder'' - Not mentioned by name Category:Villages Category:Cities Category:Settlements